04/08/2013 20:26 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia, April 08, 2013 (AFP) - Serbia on Monday rejected a Brussels-brokered proposal on easing tensions with breakaway Kosovo, seen as a key condition for EU integration talks to begin, but pledged to continue negotiations with Pristina.

"The government of Serbia cannot accept principles verbally presented to its negotiating team in Brussels, since they do not guarantee full security and protection of human rights to the Serb people in Kosovo," Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic told reporters.

02/06/2013 23:31 GMT

by Claire ROSEMBERG

BRUSSELS, Feb 06, 2013 (AFP) - The presidents of Serbia and Kosovo met for the first time Wednesday in talks mediated by the European Union to defuse tension in one of the continent's last simmering hot-spots.

The historic encounter was "open and constructive" said EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton after meeting separately with Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Kosovo leader Atifete Jahjaga, and then bringing the pair together for a first-time tete-a-tete.

12/05/2012 01:09 GMT

BRUSSELS, Dec 05, 2012 (AFP) - Serbia and Kosovo struck key political deals Tuesday in talks to ease Western Balkans' tension, agreeing to jointly manage crossings on their flashpoint border and send liaison officers to each others' capitals.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton announced the breakthrough accords after hosting a third round of talks in six weeks between Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and his Kosovo counterpart Hashim Thaci.

09/10/2012 16:17 GMT

by Ismet Hajdari

PRISTINA, Sept 10, 2012 (AFP) - Western powers which have overseen Kosovo since its 2008 unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia have ended their supervision over the territory, a top official said Monday.

The Kosovar leadership welcomed what it called a "historic turnaround" but also recognised the challenge of trying to integrate the ethnic Serbs in the north while Serbia dismissed the announcement as meaningless.

07/25/2012 13:23 GMT

by Olivera Nikolic

PODGORICA, July 25, 2012 (AFP) - Some 800 Kosovo Roma, including children, were left homeless after a fire tore through a shantytown refugee camp on the outskirts of the Montenegrin capital Podgorica, officials said Wednesday.

No one was hurt and it is not clear what started the blaze in the camp, where the Council of Europe in February described living conditions as "inhuman and hazardous".

The fire broke out early Tuesday and quickly reduced the camp, which consisted of some 40 wooded shacks, to ashes.

06/01/2012 12:41 GMT

by Tanja Vujisic

Kosovska Mitrovica, June 1, 2012 (AFP) - Two NATO soldiers and three Serbs were wounded Friday when the troops clashed with a crowd trying to stop them removing barricades put up by Serbs in north Kosovo, sources on both sides said.

The German army, the Bundeswehr, said that the wounded soldiers were German nationals hit by gunfire, one in the arm and the other on an ear, while a Serbian official said the troops had used rubber bullets and tear gas.

04/24/2012 18:00 GMT

by Rusmir Smajilhodzic

SARAJEVO, April 24, 2012 (AFP) - A global donor conference Tuesday pledged 300 million euros to build homes for some 74,000 war refugees in four former Yugoslav republics, enabling construction to start in autumn.

"During the donor conference we obtained confirmation for more than 300 million euros ($396 million) and we are satisfied with that," Bosnian Refugee Minister Damir Ljubic, told journalists.

04/20/2012 16:37 GMT

SARAJEVO, April 20, 2012 (AFP) - A donor conference next week will seek some 500 million euros to build homes for 74,000 refugees from the 1990s wars in the former Yugoslavia, Bosnian Refugee Minister Damir Ljubic said Friday.

The international conference in Sarajevo on Tuesday "should give a new enthusiasm to resolve the problem of refugees and displaced people" remaining from the wars in Croatia and Bosnia, Ljubic told reporters.

03/22/2012 23:18 GMT

PRISTINA, March 23, 2012 (AFP) - The UN mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has said it would not help organise Serbian local elections there.

Belgrade had formally asked UNMIK to help organise the vote as part of its role as neutral overseer of the disputed territory. Kosovo proclaimed independence in 2008 but the move was not recognised by Belgrade.